Civilian killed as terrorist's killing sparks protests

One person was killed in north Kashmir's Sopore on Monday when security forces allegedly opened fire at a demonstration sparked by the killing of a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander earlier in the day in an 18-hour long gunfight.

The civilian, Arshid Ahmad Shah, a resident of Sopore, 55 km away from Srinagar, was allegedly hit by bullets when protesters attacked police vehicles with stones. Two other injured civilians were shifted to hospital.

Local youth protested the killing of the terrorist and threw stones at police ever since the LeT commander's body was retrieved from the encounter at Sopore's Krankshevan locality on Monday.

A fierce gunbattle between the army and the terrorists was triggered around 5pm on Sunday when holed-up militants fired at the security forces' search party. According to a Srinagar-based army spokesman, the slain militant, identified as Mahmood Bhai, a Pakistani, was a top LeT terrorist.

However, sources said a local terrorist, Javed Ahmad Matto, managed to escape from the encounter site.Being a congested locality, the security forces had to warn people on the mosque address system against venturing into the cordoned off area.

The gunbattle comes four days after three terrorists were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir.Sources said Sopore has witnessed movement of a fresh batch of LeT terrorists of late.

Firing after mob tried to set vehicle ablaze: Police

Security forces were returning from the encounter site when they were pelted with stones by miscreants in Sopore on Monday.

A spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir police said, "The mob swelled and attempted to set an armoured vehicle ablaze. Initially, the security forces used non-lethal weapons but the situation could not be controlled. As a result, a few shots were fired in which four people were injured."

The spokesman said the incident is being inquired into and a case has been registered.